Zimbabweans were promised transparency, accountability and justice. The nation listened when President Emmerson Mnangagwa indicated that the findings of the Uchena Commission would be made public. For many, it raised hope that citizens would finally be allowed to see the truth for themselves.
Today, however, one question remains unanswered: Where is the report?
The delay has fuelled confusion and suspicion. Citizens no longer know whether to blame the media for failing to pursue the matter aggressively or government institutions for failing to act with urgency. A commission of inquiry funded by public resources does not belong behind closed doors. Its findings belong to the people of Zimbabwe.
The President reportedly approved the report’s release. If that is true, what is causing the delay? Who is sitting on the document? Which office is withholding information from the public?
Commissions are meant to restore public confidence and establish facts. But when reports are delayed indefinitely, the opposite happens. Rumours replace facts. Trust in institutions weakens. People begin to view commissions as public relations exercises designed to calm political storms rather than deliver accountability.
Equally concerning is the silence from many sectors of society. Parliament should be demanding answers. Civil society organisations should be asking questions. The media should be relentlessly pursuing the matter. Opposition parties should be pressing for publication. Ordinary citizens, too, must continue demanding transparency because silence slowly normalises secrecy.
Zimbabwe has suffered too long from a culture in which reports disappear into shelves and archives, never to see daylight. The country has witnessed inquiry after inquiry whose recommendations were never fully implemented or publicly debated. That cycle must end.
If the President indeed authorised the release of the Uchena Commission findings, then Zimbabweans deserve honesty about the delay. Citizens are mature enough to handle the truth. Keeping the nation in suspense only deepens mistrust.
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Government must understand that transparency is not a favour to citizens — it is an obligation. Public confidence is built when leaders communicate openly and institutions act decisively.
The release of the Uchena Commission report is therefore no longer just about one document. It has become a test of Zimbabwe’s commitment to openness, accountability and democratic governance.
Zimbabweans are also still waiting for full transparency on sensitive national issues, including Gukurahundi and the implementation and public accountability surrounding the findings of the Motlanthe Commission. Until that culture changes, confidence in national institutions will continue to erode.
The nation is waiting.
